Before It's Too Late
by bluewingedkitty
Summary: What happens when you want something to happen? Do you do something? Or wait for fate to take its course? What if you HAVE to do something or risk losing everything you love? Fax, obviously. C'mon, click on it.
1. A Warning

**A/N I'm sorry. This isn't even the right story I'm updating. I promised you a casting chapter, and this isn't it. Well… I was depressed, because the blog **_**died**_** (curse you, James Patterson) and I wrote this rather angsty Fax story. Don't worry though, Fax people will like the ending. **

**This was written spontaneously, in the middle of the night, in one sitting. Blame all the bad things about this story on that fact.**

**Um…yeah. The Tess story won, (Jocelyn, I counted your vote) and it'll be called "Takes Reality by Surprise". Tentatively. **

**Okay, it's 1:50 in the morning. There was something I wanted to say, but I can't think of it right now.**

**Happy Thanksgiving, America (that wasn't it)!**

**Disclaimer: I am not James Patterson. If I was, I would NOT have killed the blog.**

I was fifteen when I saved the world. I was sixteen when my world was broken apart.

Not broken. More like "smashed" or "shattered" or "blown apart by a nuclear bomb".

My flock split. What we promised never to do again. We did it.

We destroyed Itex almost three years ago. We located their new world headquarters, in China. After wiping out that branch, we moved on to the Russian headquarters….then the Australian headquarters….then New Zealand…

Pretty soon, the rest of the world woke up. Within six months, every single division of Itex had been obliterated. Of course, since Itex owned half the world, the economy went to heck in a hand basket.

But that wasn't our problem. We were heroes, instant celebrities. Nudge went berserk with all the clothing lines she was asked to endorse. I very nearly spontaneously combusted. Several times. The _whole freaking wide world_ knew our faces.

A year isn't very long…

After our 15 minutes of fame, I think things settled to mostly normal. We ended up in Arizona, with my mom. My paranoia never completely faded, but I was in the minority. As per usual. I couldn't blame them, though. For the first time, the younger kids were _living_, without fear. Even Iggy and Fang seemed more relaxed. I was just….being me.

A year isn't long at all…

Sometime that year, Nudge located her parents. Or rather, they located her. The woman she had seen in the trailer park _was_ actually her mom. Apparently, they'd been trying to live under the radar after an Itex agent had tried to murder them, hopping states in a trailer.

One day, they were watching one of the many, many talk shows we'd been on, and Nudge had mentioned her real name, Monique. Her mom had seen the show, and immediately began to track down my mom's email.

"Nudge," My mother stood in the kitchen, holding a sheet of paper in one hand. "I really don't know how to tell you this, but I—I think we've found your parents." She handed over the printed email.

Nudge, for once, had nothing to say.

The rest of us were thrilled, but we didn't know what to say.

That was sort of the…beginning of the end, I suppose. The innocent act that brought about the apocalypse.

Nudge obviously wanted to see her parents. The trouble was, they currently lived in Pennsylvania. So they were going to come to Arizona to meet Nudge and offer her a home.

The paranoid part of me didn't want Nudge going off alone to the other end of the country.

"Guys," Iggy said quietly. "I've been thinking—I know Max doesn't want Nudge all the way over in Pennsylvania by herself, so I'm— I'm going to give my parents another chance. They're in D.C., so if there are any problems, I'll be close…"

We were in the room that Ella and I shared with the rest of the flock. As much as I hated losing another member of my flock, I had to admit that it was probably a good idea.

I was happy enough with this arrangement, until Iggy pulled me and Fang aside later that night.

"Let's face it. I'm blind and I'm not going to be able to do much if Itex gets reincarnated," Iggy stated bluntly. He turned to me. "What do you want to do, Max?"

I shook my head mutely, knowing he was right, and also knowing I was about to lose another part of my family.

Fang stood there, silent as usual.

We both knew the outcome. It was inevitable, really.

The final plan: Nudge went with her parents to Pennsylvania. Iggy went with his parents to Washington DC. Fang went with them.

The day that Iggy and Nudge's parents were coming was my 16th birthday.

"Max? Where's the laptop?"

I stood in front of the mirror in Ella's/my room. Fang was at the door.

"It's on the desk."

I bit my lip. Mom, Angel, Gazzy, Total, Akila,_ and_ Ella were all going with them as far as Maryland. I knew that this trip was awfully hard on a veterinarian's salary, and I was eternally indebted to my mother.

"Max?" Fang said softly. I turned around.

He was standing right behind me.

"Yeah?"

He looked like he wanted to speak, but he couldn't say anything. That was what was happening to me.

My heart was going twice its normal speed. Heat rushed to my face, and I was finding it hard to breathe.

_Was he going to kiss me?_

"Good-bye," he whispered.

"Bye," I choked out. It was finally dawning on me that this was the last time Fang and I would be alone with each other for a very long time.

"Time to go," Mom shouted. Neither of us moved.

Finally, I broke the silence. "We should go."

"Yeah." He leaned in slowly, eyes hesitant, then stopped. "After you," he said emotionlessly.

I had never hated myself more.

It's funny how years can feel so fast and yet so slow.

Nudge was doing well in school. Iggy was at a special school equipped to help handicapped. Fang was there too. Angel, Gazzy and I all became withdrawn. We felt cut off.

It was a couple of months later when we received the news. Nudge's dad got work in Jacksonville, Florida, and Fang had a lead to his parents in Florida. He would be going with them.

It occurred to me then, that Fang was the only one still trying to find parents. Iggy, Nudge and I had found all ours, and Gazzy and Angel had no desire to find theirs.

A year passed… years become so short.

We got a phone call from Iggy that February. He wanted to come to Arizona for Thanksgiving, meaning he was coming if he had to fly himself.

Our house became more alive than it had been in a whole year.

It was the day Iggy was going to arrive. I was a senior in high school, looking at colleges. Yes, it was me, Maximum Ride, going to college. The irony didn't escape me. I was staying home while everyone else was going to pick up Iggy at the airport, because I was feeling a little under the weather. The irony of Iggy using an airplane didn't escape me either.

While everyone was getting ready to leave, I was on my email, sorting through my inbox, when a little green light caught my attention. My heart leapt into my throat.

It was next to Fang's name. He was online.

I clicked on his name.

_max01ride: hi_

_fang14: hey_

_max01ride: how are you doing?_

_fang14: i'm ok. you?_

_max01ride: a little sick_

_fang14: sorry_

_max01ride: how's nudge?_

_fang14: she was happy last time i saw her_

_max01ride: last time you saw her? where are you?_

_max01ride: did you find your parents??_

_fang14: georgia. i found my aunt two weeks ago_

_fang14: i found her old address in jacksonville_

_fang14: it was pretty easy to get a hold of her email after that_

_max01ride: that's great!_

_max01ride: that's really, really great._

_fang14: she lives in georgia now_

_max01ride: that's really cool._

_max01ride: well, i have to go_

_max01ride: tell nudge hi when you see her_

_max01ride: we're picking up iggy, did you hear?_

_fang14: yeah. ok next time i see her_

_fang14: bye, max_

_max01ride: bye_

The thing about chatting is that it's too easy to lie.

I stumbled to my room, feeling hallow, and I didn't know why.

I was sitting on my bed when it hit me.

_Fang found a home. He's never coming back_.

Greif crushed me like a physical force. My mental barriers that everyone in the house had formed to keep Angel out, collapsed entirely.

Dimly, I heard footsteps rush down the hall. "Max?" Angel asked anxiously. "Are you okay?"

I hadn't even cried. It was lucky that Angel had learned to tune out everyone's minds, and that we'd all learned to keep her out, because now she hadn't felt anyone's full mind in years. She wasn't used to sifting through everything.

I gently re-erected my shields. "I just feel a little sick. Headache-y."

"The Voice?" Angel asked, confused.

"No." I hadn't heard the Voice—either Voice—since we demolished Itex. "Just need some sleep."

"Okay," Angel said, uncertainly, still a little shaken. "Bye, Max."

I had just successfully lied to Angel. That was impossible.

After she left, I lost it.

An hour or so later, Iggy walked in the house. "Bye!" he yelled at the car, still in the driveway. "Don't forget, I want pepperonis!"

Iggy was the only one. They were getting pizza. Good.

I sat up gently, still sobbing silently. Crying felt—so—good.

"Max?" Iggy was standing in the doorway. "I know something's wrong, and it's not that you're sick."

Why not tell him? "Fang found his aunt two weeks ago," I said hoarsely, looking down.

"Max…I'm sorry." He made his way to the center of the room. "Where's the tissue box?"

"It's on the desk," I sniffed, then gasped, remember who I had said the exact same thing to, in this exact same room.

"Here," Iggy said firmly, thrusting a tissue at me. "Blow."

I obeyed.

"Max, you know what you need to tell him, before it's too late," Iggy said. "You know what you need to tell him before it's too late."

This time, it didn't sound like Iggy's voice.

_You need to tell him…_

I sat bolt upright.

Still in a tree, still fourteen. A dream.

A_ dream_.

A nightmare, more like.

_You know what you need to tell him. Now, Max. Before it's too late._

Tears were running down my cheeks.

_You know…_

I took several deep breaths.

…_what you need…._

I realized I was sobbing quietly.

_..to tell him…_

I swallowed. It's not too late. I said firmly. That was all a _dream. _It's _not_ too late.

..._before it's too late._

"Okay, fine." Me talking to a little voice in my head again. This time, however, for the first time, it was actually me in my head.

I took one final breath, and unfolded my wings.

It was Fang's watch. I glided down from the tree, landing directly behind him. He spun around immediately, then relaxed as he saw it was me.

"You took first watch," he reminded me.

…_before it's too late…_

"Fang, I need to tell you something."

**A/N Betcha weren't expecting that twist, huh? I know I got at least some of you. Well? How was it? Should I stick with humor or what? Review! Maybe I'll add another chapter, of what Max says… Yay or nay? **

**Just to be clear, Fax is the ONLY pairing in this. That last bit was NOT Miggy, it was a brotherly-sisterly conversation.**

**Don't play Rock, Paper, Scissors against Alice Cullen,**

**BlueWingedKitty**


	2. I Just Have Bad Luck

**A/N: Okay, the general consensus was for me to continue, so I am. :) The biiiiiig news, however, is that this oneshot is now about to become a full length story! There is a plot... centering around Fax, rather than a **_**real**_** plot, but a plot nonetheless. Takes Reality by Surprise is officially being put on the back burner.**

**A note to the reader: My sense of humor died, was bitten by Edward, turned into a vampire and is now working on controlling its newborn instincts. Bottom line: I miss my sense of humor and it's making a comeback, although it's not completely back to normal, and has yellow eyes.**

**Uh-oh, I'm about to be stabbed by a mob of angry Fax Fluff Fans armed with sporks. Why? Well, as soon as you read the first paragraph you'll understand why.**

**Disclaimer: I. Not. Middle Aged. Guy. Compredez-vous? I. Not Speak. French. Either. **

I gulped. I must be a mess. My heart was still pounding from that nightmare, and I felt that weariness that you get inside after you have a good, long cry. And now that I was coming back to reality, I was getting much more nervous of what I was about to say.

The night was clear, but the forest wasn't quiet. On the contrary, it was full of urgent crackling, like the type that little prey animals make that warns of a predator. As I listened, the frantic rustling stopped.

Or it could have been in my head.

Fang looked at me. "Okay. Shoot."

I wrestled with two halves inside of me. One was terrified that my nightmare might become a reality, and my sensible side was telling me to shut up and go back to sleep.

"Max, have you been _crying?"_

"I had a bad dream," I sniffled. Oh, jeez, that was lame. "But that's not what I'm trying to tell you... I just realize I need to tell you something before I lose my nerve."

"I'm listening."

I tried to swallow again. I almost said "Never mind" but then the absolute sense of panic and grief from my dream overwhelmed me. I had to do this, now. " It's something I realized a long time ago, but I didn't want to admit to myself." I sighed here, trying to dredge up some courage. It didn't work ."But I'm going to say it now. Fang, I think I lo--"

I was very rudely interrupted in the middle of my speech by an Eraser, lumbering though the forest.

Nine of them, to be exact. Fully morphed and foaming at the mouth.

This was _not_ happening.

"OI!" I screeched. "Erasers, everyone GET UP!"

"Wha--?"

"Ah, crap--!"

A big, Hulk-y Eraser aimed a punch at my head. I ducked and slugged him in the gut, adding a kick for good measure.

What are the freaking _odds_ that as soon as I make a life changing decision, Erasers (who are all supposed to be freaking DEAD, I realized) show up?! NOT HIGH, that's your answer.

More proof that I just have bad luck.

"Everyone U and A!" I shouted. I saw Iggy grab Total and leap into the air followed by Angel. I was grateful for my gut-feel decision to leave Akila at Mom's house. She would have been a real burden. Total didn't agree, but you know. Whatever.

Nudge and Gazzy were right behind them, carrying our backpacks. For some reason, these were the older Erasers, without the wings. They completely ignored the rest of the flock.

And for some reason, they weren't fighting very hard. It was like a training session...not deadly at all.

And that made me very, very, paranoid.

"Up, now," I told Fang. He nodded, and burst into the air like the shadow of an angel. A very, very, hot shadow.

Oh. Ugh. No. Shut up, Max.

After Fang had cleared the treetops, the Erasers turned their attention, forming a ragged circle around me.

Luckily, they didn't have wings.

"Sayonara," I muttered. They growled, tightening the circle. I crouched, praying I'd have enough strength to jump and get airborne. I lept straight up, and snapped out my wings, pumping furiously.

I could feel it wouldn't be enough. I struggled against gravity, but it wasn't working.

_Please, no_.

I didn't have the energy to fight 9 on one, even if they weren't going very hard. There wouldn't be an opportunity to try to fly again.

A long string of swearwords came of my mouth. One of the Erasers lunged for my foot…

...and missed. Miraculously. I was rising.

I twisted around, and another litany of curses flowed out of my mouth.

Fang. Ugh.

This was so incredibly humiliating. He glanced down at me, looking ever so slightly smug.

"You can put me down now," I growled. He grinned openly.

"Sure you won't fall?"

My mouth opened, searching for a witty comeback and finding none. That's gotta be a first.

"_Yes." _I managed to inject some sarcasm into my voice.

"Have it your way."

He let go. Normally, I would have exploded my wings out and hit him in the face, just to annoy him. After that dream, though, I wasn't going to.

Stupid freaking dream.

I fell away, made myself count to 3 in my head, and spread my wings, angling up to meet the rest of the flock.

"What was that?" Iggy demanded, the same time Nudge said "Why were there Erasers? Aren't they all supposed to be dead? And didn't they have wings? What's going on?"

"I don't know!" I cried, holding my hands palm up. "We just have to find somewhere to stay tonight. Somewhere sheltered. Tomorrow—well, we'll wing it tomorrow."

"As in…?" Iggy asked. "Literally or figuratively?"

"Uh. Both? I have a headache. What time is it?"

"About one-thirty," Fang said. I groaned.

"I'm dead beat. I can't think. I just—" I was going to say "I just had a nightmare, and I feel like I didn't sleep at all" but thought better of it.

Angel looked at me sideways. Great. I just tipped off the mind reader.

I was saved by the light sound of Total snoring. I sighed heavily.

"Want me to carry you?" Fang asked, only the barest hint of sarcasm layering his voice. Iggy sniggered.

"I'm _fine_," I snapped, then realized I'd just contradicted myself. Both Iggy and Fang started chuckling.

"Are we going to move?" Gazzy asked pointedly. I realized we'd been stationary, hovering in midair for about two minutes.

"Erm, yeah. Keep your eyes peeled for a shed or something."

About twenty minutes, Nudge spotted an old barn in the middle of a cornfield. We swooped in and found a dry hayloft. Gazzy and Nudge barely made it to the floor before they were dead to the world. Angel settled herself, curling up, her back facing us.

I sighed and sank against a wall.

"So, what were you going to tell me?"

I groaned mentally. Fang was sitting next to me.

How on earth was I going to get out of this one?

**A/N So, you're all going to kill me. :)**

**Reviews would help me get the next chapter up faster, hint, hint…. I know it was bad, but at least I have something up here, okay? **

**Don't challenge Emmett Cullen to an arm-wrestling match. Or any type of wrestling, really. Unless you happen to be a newborn vampire. **

**BlueWingedKitty.**


	3. Angel Unnerved

**A/N****: ****You guys, I am so sorry. I know I haven't updated in forever, but I have an excuse. Actually, I have a lot. I went to the Philippines, and then my computer crashed. Then my other computer crashed. So I had to get another computer, and blah, blah, blah. And then I had school. But lately, we've have very wintry weather where I live. Like, there's a foot of snow outside, and we've gotten twenty below (Fahrenheit) with windchill, and it's colder here than it is in Alaska. **

**And THEN I had a theater performance and we thought one girl couldn't show up, so our director was freaking out and then another girl got the stomach flu the night of the performance and I got her solos. (lucky me...)**

**Sorry if its not funny, one of my good friends moved to a different state, in a different time zone and I'm dedicating this to her, even though the only thing she reads is Twilight and school books, and she thinks I'm a booknoodle. She's awesome anyway. **

**Disclaimer: I'm not James Patterson, and I hope you've all figured that out by now.**

**Okay, enough chitchat. On with the story...!**

Angel POV

I wasn't sleeping.

I couldn't; it was like trying to fall asleep with 6 TVs, all on different channels, all turned to max volume, all playing in the same room.

It was bad when they were awake, but it was so much worse when they fell asleep.

See, when you're awake, your mind focuses on one thing at a time. Those thoughts are the ones I hear. I don't pry into other peoples' minds unless I have too. That's kind of rude.

But when you sleep, your mind is dreaming. And it can move slow, it can move fast, and it thinks of more than one thing at a time. And they're not even coherent thoughts most of the time, just little random snapshots, then little scenes, then snapshots.

What's the most difficult, though, is the absolute randomness of the dreams. They aren't even real thoughts, or real memories. They're slippery.

_...turn the corner and there's the dress..._

_...mashed baked cooked fried...._

_...crows in a barn meowing and flapping.,. _

_... air feeling free and powerful...._

It hadn't always been like that, and that's what confused me the most. I could always tune out the thoughts when I wanted to.

But lately...

The past week or so, ever since we left Dr. Martinez's house in Arizona, my mind-reading had gotten beyond my control. It was like... someone had turned up the volume on the TVs. Really loud. It was hard to concentrate. I wanted to scream with pain almost every moment of the first day, but I held it in. I focused only on one person's thoughts. When I did that, usually, everything else would get quiet, and I could think. But the all the little voices still whispered at me in the dark, and they wouldn't shut up. The more I tried to block them, the louder they got.

It's a lot to ask of a six-almost seven year old. A regular, average person would have gone insane.

I didn't.

..._being over the world..._

_...and it goes and explodes..._

_How on earth am I going to get out of this one?_

That was a real thought. Not a fragment.

Max was awake.

_Is she going to tell me?_

And so was Fang.

I wondered what they were talking—thinking-- about. I could have looked into their minds, but the last few days of HD thought readings had really gotten to my mental control.

_This was a stupid idea. You weren't even awake when you acted, Max. Ugh. Such an idiot._

Hmm. Curiosity got the better of me. I summoned all my mental strength and dove into Max's memories.

What I found made me a little scared, and very...what's that word? Unnerved.

3rd person POV

"Max!" The voice of a tired girl broke the tense silence.

"Angel!" The teen started. "Aren't you asleep?"

"I...can't." Angel's blue eyes became shadowed.

"What's wrong?" The other teen, the boy, asked quietly, but with slight concern.

"Why can't you?" Max asked, the worry line etched into her brow already creasing.

"I..." Angel closed her eyes. "It's...really, really hard now."

"To fall asleep?" Max said, beginning to become alarmed.

"Yes. It's not normal, and everything's getting louder and the voices won't be quiet..." Angel didn't cry. She stared instead, confused and willing Max to understand.

The dark boy got up softly and found a space apart from the two girls. "Wake me up next watch."

"Okay, Angel. C'mere."

Angel crawled by Max, and Max put her arms around her. "What's going on now?"

Max POV

Angel hadn't exactly been the average American child growing up, what with mind reading and all. I guess we'd (meaning the flock) had gotten used to the creepiness of having our minds read like books, and Angel had learned not to embarrass us or anything.

But now she was seriously freaking me out. I mean, come on! 'The voices won't be quiet.' That doesn't really sound like a sane person speaking.

"What voices?" I said carefully.

She shrugged. "Yours, I guess. Everyone's. The minds."

Huh?

"Can you explain that a little, please? I said.

She sighed. "The mind-reading stuff. I can usually block the thoughts I hear. But ever since we left Arizona, I can't block them anymore. They just get louder. I can't sleep, it's so bad. It's like I'm hyper—you know..."

"Hyper aware?" I supplied.

"Yeah..." Angel paused. "They get louder. And clearer. And I can't ignore them."

"At all?"

"Yes. It's not so bad when everyone's awake, but at night it's hard."

That was the end of the spiel. I tossed everything around in my head. Quite frankly, I had no idea what to tell her. There wern't exactly pills for this sort of thing, were there? Like, "Doctor, my little sister here is having some trouble with voices in her head." That would go down wonderfully.

"Well," I said. "How about we stay here tomorrow, you can sleep while we're awake, and we'll head out later."

"Are you sure, Max? I don't want to slow us down..."

"Angel, we'd definitely get slowed down if you fall asleep in mid-air. Don't' worry. We'll fix this. Maybe we can fix the voice in my head," I said lightly. "Do you want to take watch with me? Since you can't sleep? Don't tell Nudge or Gazzy. They'll be really jealous."

Angel smiled hesitantly. "Okay."

We sat quietly like that for about ten minutes.

"Max, Fang's asleep, and there's something I have to tell you."

Oh. Spectacular. Here it comes.

"I looked thorough your memories, and I saw that dream."

Spectacular.

"And I didn't think you'd want me to say anything while Fang was awake..."

Freaking. Spectacular.

"Angel, did I ever tell you not to go through things in people's heads? Ever? At all?"

Angel sighed. "I really don't care how you feel about Fang, Max. I've known since New York that you two would get together sometime. It really wouldn't hurt to tell him you love him, Max. I don't see why you're putting off the inevitable."

_The inevitable_? Was she a fortune teller too, now? Nothing would surprise me.

"That's not the point, though."

My face was hot and flushed. "It was a dream, Angel. Nothing else. And put that crazy concept that Fang and I are going to—whatever it is you're thinking—get together—put it out of your brain. Delete it. Trash it. Shred it. Burn it. Lock it up. Throw the key. Burn the key. Heck, I don't care what you do. It's just a dream. Dreams don't ever work out like that."

"Are we getting a bit defensive, there?" Angel asked sweetly. "Like I said, I don't care what you and Fang do. Actually, I do, but that's not the point."

"Then what's the point?"

"It wasn't a dream, Max."

Huh?

"I'm not following."

"It's not a dream," Angel repeated. "It was a created memory. I know. I can tell."

"Whoa, you can create memories?" Do you think you could have mentioned that a bit sooner, sweetie?

"Me? No. It looked really complex. The person who made it would need really great concentration. But it wasn't a dream. I'm totally sure of that."

"Okay... how are you so sure?" I asked slowly.

"Dreams are really fragment-y. Like, slippery. They change really fast, and they never make any sense. And that wasn't a dream. It was exactly like a memory, but...well, I think someone sent it to you, actually."

"Someone sent me a fake dream?"

"Yeah."

"Who? And why?"

Angel looked up at me, blue eyes wide. "I don't know, but it unnerves me."

And what unnerves me is when 6-year olds can't sleep because they hear voices in their head and use words like "unnerve".

**A/N: Sorry it's short, not Fax and not funny. I just had to put something up. **

**By the way, it's 2:37 AM where I'm writing this. Thought I'd share that tidbit with you folks. **

**Don't get a vampire on a sugar high or something. I don't know how, and I don't know why, I just have a feeling a vampire on a sugar high would be a bad thing for the world. **

**BlueWingedKitty. Meow. **


	4. Erasers

**A/N: Hello again, I'm trying to update faster. Anyone want to explain to me why I've suddenly received a bunch of reviews for Frogs? It's very strange...**

**Well, since I have writers block, and I really wanted to start working on OCs I came up with this. Here you go...**

**Disclaimer: I seriously don't have to say I'm not James Patterson again, do I? I'm running out of ideas . **

Silence filled the woods. It seemed as though every animal was holding its breath. Somehow, they sensed that there was danger nearby.

And they were right.

In the shadows under the old trees, a teenage girl stood. She had wild dark hair and russet toned skin. She leaned against the tree, perfectly still. Her eyes were the only thing that moved.

The girl sighed. "Quinn. Get a move on."

Quinn appeared from behind another tree, straightening her t-shirt. She could have been the first girl's sister, only a little younger, about fourteen. "Look, I'm sorry, Laila!" she muttered. "I don't know why I keep morphing the wrong way."

Laila sighed again. "You're the youngest," she said consolingly. "Don't look at me like that!" she added as Quinn glared at her. "It's the way things are. There's nothing wrong with it. Just as long as you don't let the birdkids see it."

Quinn groaned. "Ugh. M would kill me, I know."

"Not to mention Dr. Delarosa. She's so protective of them. I don't get it. Her and Dr. Batchleder, and Dr. Walker..."

"Laila, you know why..." Quinn said. "And besides, Dr. Walker isn't even in the Operation. She's with Itex. Don't bad talk them."

"Right. I'm just a lowly Eraser, sent to do the dirty work. Not allowed to question _anything,_" Laila snorted.

"Laila..." Quinn said warningly.

"Don't have a cow. I'm just saying. Nobody asked us to become _animals_. We didn't get a choice. Why do we have to do what they say?"

"Don't say you don't enjoy running through the woods. Nothing human compares. Why would you want anything else?"

"I just didn't get a choice. And since it was made for me, I think I have the right to live my life however I want to, however long it might be."

"You know we're supposed to have a normal life span," Quinn said quietly.

"'Supposed to' isn't the same as 'going to'," Laila answered vehemently. " I'm only, what, five years? And I look like I'm like sixteen or seventeen!"

"Those were the hormones, they stopped giving them to us," Quinn said heatedly, pacing. "We're going to live just as long, we'll just look the same until we reach that age, then we'll start to grow! Laila, just—stop, okay? You know this already."

"Y'know, I think these kids have the right idea, running off."

"You wouldn't, Laila," Quinn said softly. She had stopped.

Laila smiled ruefully. "You're right. It's just talk. I'm just frustrated. Subject 16 broke one of Xavier's ribs."

"Fang?"

"Oh, look who's talking. Since when have you called them by names?"

Quinn looked at Laila, and began to walk towards the camp. "It's easier," she said, without looking back. "So, is Xavier still here?"

"No. M sent him back. Rob and Johnny went with him. So only Jack, Will and Luke are with us. The guys all have boring names now."

Half of Quinn's mouth quirked upwards.

"What?" demanded Laila, jogging to catch up.

"Oh, just thinking." Quinn was remembering the day she asked Jack why all the guys had such dull names.

"_I mean, Jack?" she had asked incredulously. "What about Jacques, Joaquin—?" _

"_Quinn," Jack had interrupted, talking slowly as if to a small child. "They sound like names of poodles or something."_

"_No, they sound cultured. Like...some fashion designer from Europe or something."_

_Jack had snorted. "I'm a wolf-human hybrid. I don't _want_ to sound like some fashion designer from Europe."_

"_Well, then why does Xavier have such a good name?" Quinn had asked triumphantly._

"_Laila named him."_

"Why'd you name Xavier that, anyways?"

"Cause it sounded cool," Laila replied. "Why?"

"Just wondering."

The two girls walked through the forest silently for a few minutes.

"Why are we so far away?" Quinn grumbled.

"Dunno. Hey, how's the mind thing going?"

Quinn sighed tiredly. "It's friggin' hard," she said. "I can only do it if I concentrate, and if I concentrate too hard, then I get overwhelmed and pass out. I don't get how Angel can do it so well and she's _six_."

Laila laughed dryly. "You're three and a half."

"But mentally and physically, I'm fourteen," Quinn pointed out. "She's still six. She carries around a stuffed bear."

"Maybe you should do that," Laila suggested. "Help you with those mind reading skills."

"Oh, very funny." Quinn rolled her eyes. "I'm exhausted, by the way. Trying to concentrate on six different minds at the same time isn't exactly a picnic."

"Did you find anything useful?" Laila asked.

Quinn sighed again, this time in frustration. "_No_," she said. "Nothing. Nada. I got random bits and pieces—the dog likes the Killers and Iggy has a killer recipe for lasagna—"

"Why was he thinking about lasagna during a fight?" Laila asked, looking slightly bewildered.

"He wasn't," Quinn said dejectly. "And actually, I didn't get it from his mind, I got it from Nudge's."

"Okay, why was Nudge thinking—"

"She wasn't either, I don't know how I got it. I just did, from her mind. It was a memory from a while ago."

Laila threw up her hands. "I give up on understanding. I'll tell M you don't want a watch tonight."

"Thanks," Quinn said. "I'm dead on my feet."

She walked on, followed by Laila. In a matter of moments, they were gone, swallowed by the darkness.

**A/N: Soo, we have an Eraser who can read minds...(to an extent)... o.O**

**I really don't like this chapter. I just don't. It's not my greatest writing. I'll try to make the next one better, okay?**

**It's 2:05 AM, I have a science project due on Monday, and I have to learn thirty-six freaking scales for an audition. And I write a crappy chapter. Well, at least I updated. :P**

**And by the way, I didn't mean to name half the Erasers after dudes in Pirates of the Caribbean. I only noticed afterwards. I almost named Rob Orlando. It was close. And Xavier is named after a certain puppy who's ADORABLE that belongs to a guy I've carpooled with since second grade. He's s**_**uper **_**cute and I had to name something after him. (The puppy, not the guy.)**

**So, I really kinda want some reviews.**

**BlueWingedKitty**


	5. And Then We Start Running Again

**A/N: I'm back, and updating. Enjoy, mes amis. **

**Disclaimer: I'm not James Patterson, and I don't wish to be. **

I was sitting in a booth in a Japanese restaurant—with my shoes off—eating seaweed when I saw the Chevrolet Equinox pull into the parking lot.

So, I'll back up a bit for you folks.

So basically, we hung around the barn while Angel slept, doing random things. Fang beat Gazzy at poker for 34th consecutive time (that was just since we started counting) Nudge had a sudden urge to try sewing (we carried around a kit in our backpacks) and spent the day mending tears and such (and making half of them worse), Iggy was doing _something_

--frankly, I didn't want to know.... and I decided to start learning Spanish.

Yes, Español, mis amigos.

Well, I'm half Hispanic, or 49% if you want to be really technical about it, so I took Fang's laptop and started converting common phrases and stuff. The thing was, I had a funny feeling that the conjugating was a little off.

But the point was, we had a day happen where...nothing happened. Which was pretty unusual for us.

But things started to happen when Nudge and I flew to the next town over to get supplies.

"So you know, I think it's a good idea for us to take a break every once in a while because it gets really tiring running all the time, and our clothes really do get messed up, and you know, if I learn how to sew really well, maybe I can adjust some clothes to fit us better and stuff—"

"Yeah. Uh-huh," I said absently as we landed with our backs to a really big, really red mountain thing. I'm sure it has a proper name but hey, I'm a mutant bird kid. _You _look it up.

The rock was still warm from the day, and I felt reasonably safe there because a) the nearest town was a good two, three miles off b) We were surrounded by scraggly, spiky tree-shrub things (once again, I'm a bird kid, not an ecologist) and c) It was utterly deserted. I was guessing that we were in the Arizona/Nevada region. And that meant _no_ mad scientists! _Hopefully_.

"All right," I said quietly, unfolding the sweatshirt I'd brought and shrugging it over my head. "No drawing attention. We'll split up, you take food and I'll get maps and whatever else we need from like a gas station or whatever. We'll meet up here in exactly an hour. Don't be late, or I will storm the small and peaceful desert town, thus drawing attention to us, which is exactly what we _don't _need."

"Ditto," Nudge said in a muffled voice as she pulled on her sweatshirt. "Why'd you give me _Gazzy's_ hoodie?"

"Really?" I checked. "Oh. Sorry about that. Turn around. Nope, can't see your wings. We're good."

Nudge gagged. "It's still really tight."

"Well, let's get going, then. It's—" I checked my watch. "6:27. Be here at seven-thirty or I'll tear the little town apart."

"Yeah, I got that," Nudge muttered, shouldering her pack. I walked out of the bushes and onto the worn road.

"Hey, how are we getting there?" Nudge asked, following me.

"We're running," I said, and took off.

About twenty minutes later (we're fast) I was staring at an ATM on the side of a teeny-tiny movie theater across the street.

"Is that it?" Nudge whispered. We were concealed behind a dumpster at the back of a diner.

"Yeah." I stood up. "Okay, I'll get money, and I'll signal you when I'm ready. Walk across the street and I'll give some to you. Remember, seven-thirty." I smoothed my hoodie down again and walked as calmly as I could to the ATM.

I punched the screen, entering my password, and withdrawing $200. I figured I didn't know how long Itex would leave the account, so it was good to be prepared.

As near as I could tell, we were in the middle of the town. There was about fifteen or so people milling about, doing their business, shopping, walking dogs, sweeping the sidewalk, _making out_...I stared at the couple. They were outside the teeny-tiny movie theater, in the shadows. The didn't look any older that me. The girl was a redhead (_What?! ANOTHER REDHEAD?!) _and the guy had dark blonde hair under a baseball cap.

But I was mostly watching the girl. She had one hand on the guy's shoulder; the other was entwined with his. She wasn't tense, freaking out, running off....she looked like she was enjoying it. Unlike someone we know. Imagine that.

The machine beeped and began spitting out twenties. I looked at it, not really paying attention.

"Are you done?" a loud voice asked behind me. I spun around, fists half raised, before realizing that the old granny tapping her foot impatiently wasn't really a threat.

"Yup, ma'am, sorry," I said brightly in a false Texan accent. I pride myself on thinking quickly in these situations. It's a good skill when you're me. "Is there a gas station or, like a Walgreens or somethin' around here?"

"Across the street about a block," the granny said, sighing. "Can I get my money now?"

I nodded, smiling, and stepped aside. "Hey," the lady remarked, peering closely at me. "Aren't you a little young to be using an ATM?"

"You're too kind!" I squealed, rewarding her with a dazzling grin. "My fiancé says I look young for my age but I always figured he was just being nice," I added, shoving my hand into my pocket before she could notice I wasn't wearing any rings and walked off in a quickish way.

Nudge was loitering near the crosswalk on the other side of the street. I got to the street corner as the light changed, making brief eye contact with her. The three cars that were in the intersection pulled to stops, and Nudge, me and the four other people crossing the street started across. Halfway through, Nudge deliberately brushed against me as I slipped a few folded bills into her pocket. We'd practiced this type of thing hundreds of times. I reached the sidewalk and set off briskly. Time was ticking.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the gas station was the security cameras. You know, the ones with big TV screens that seven year olds enjoy making faces at. Security cameras make me nervous, for several good reasons. Firstly, they make shoplifting difficult. But for those of us with actual money, that wasn't a real big problem anymore. Second, they record your faces and they _watch _you. Which is baaaad for us mutant birdkids on the run. Third, whenever I see them I have an urge to break them for the aforementioned reason. Unfortunately, law enforcement authorities don't look too kindly on security-camera-breakers. Well, I'm just a mistrustful person.

The second thing I noticed was the girl working there. It was a small gas station, so she'd be watching me the entire time. I seized her up. About my height, a little older, 18 or 19, slender but muscular, long, dark hair, russet skin and wearing an extra large Cardinals t-shirt. She was actually quite pretty, but she also fell into my "potentially dangerous persons" category. I gave her a wary smile.

"Hi!" she said. "Need anything? I'm Melanie, by the way."

"Hi," I said in a tone that indicated I did not want to converse. She didn't catch that.

"So, can I help you find anything? It's a really small store though, so I don't see why you'd need my help but I'm still supposed to ask. My uncle is the store owner, and that's why I got hired. Hey, I haven't seen you here before, are you a tourist? Or passing through?" she said this in once breath. I wondered if she and Nudge were possibly related.

"Uh, yeah, passing through," I said, giving her a faint smile. _If_ you could call it a smile. It was a little more like bared teeth.

"Ooh, really? From where?"

"California," I said. First name that popped into my head. I scanned the shelves.

"Cool," Melanie said, grinning. I grabbed some soap and toothpaste.

"So..." Melanie leaned on the counter, watching me. "Are you already on summer break? It's a little early. We're not out yet here. Well, I am, because collage and stuff, but the high school isn't."

"Homeschooled," I said automatically, snagging toothbrushes.

"Oh, really? I could never do that, Mom wouldn't be so patient," Melanie continued to watch me with bright eyes. Feeling slightly self-conscious, I picked up some batteries for Iggy and Gazzy and their talent.

"So where are you headed?" Melanie asked. I was beginning to get nervous. Overly nice people make me paranoid. I seized a bottle of shampoo (in case we ever had the opportunity to shower) and some waters.

"Texas," I said, praying my geography was correct. "To...study the history and the soil and stuff. There's a convention of homeschoolers over there. My friend and I are going." I really wanted to get out of there, ASAP. I mentally went through my checklist. I had mostly everything that I needed except t-shirts (which weren't sold here anyways) and a map. I snatched one at the front counter, and, on impulse, a cigarette lighter for our pyros.

Melanie gazed at the stuff I'd dumped on the counter. I stood there, heart pounding, hoping she wouldn't ask why I'd gotten six toothbrushes. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, never a good sign.

At that moment, Nudge came bursting into the gas station, gripping three grocery bags, wide-eyed and out of breath.

"Amy!" I blurted quickly. "Is Mom leaving now?"

"Uh, yeah, we _really_ gotta go, or we'll be late. She's going nuts, she sent me to look for you," Nudge said. That girl really should be an actress, with all this improv we end up doing in our crazy mutant lives.

"I'm not done yet, do we have time?" So now the question was: why did Nudge look this panicked? I was betting that the reason was nothing good.

"Uh," Nudge glanced out the window. "Yeah, I think so."

"A lighter?" Melanie asked holding it up.

"Yeah, it's for a science project at the convention," I said quickly. "Why, is it illegal or something?"

"I guess, it's okay..." she said, ringing it up. "That's $28.75."

"Here," I said, throwing two twenties at her. "Keep the change. We're really late!" I seized my bags, and bolted out the door, Nudge at my heels. Never mind what we looked like on the security cameras.

"Okay, what's wrong?" I asked as we sprinted around the gas station to the open land. Luckily, we seemed to be on the outskirts of town.

"I saw an SUV with tinted windows at the grocery store," Nudge panted. "I got a little nervous, because I saw it was a Chevrolet Equinox ---"

"Why is that important?"

"It's not out yet! It's supposed to come out in 2010!"

I stared at her.

"I like cars, remember?" Nudge said impatiently, as we dashed across the sand. "And then I saw two really tall good looking guys get out."

I swore. "Erasers? You're sure?"

Nudge nodded worriedly. "Positive. Absolutely. I'd know them anywhere now."

"Okay, we gotta get back. Let's go." I slowed down, set down my bags and wriggled out of my sweatshirt. Nudge did the same. Flushed and breathing heavily, we took to the sky.

**A/N So, I did my research: ****www**** dot automobilemag dot com/new_and_future_cars/2010/08012_2010_chevrolet_equinox/index dot html **

**That's what a Chevy Equinox looks like. Just replace the dots with periods. I'm so proud of myself, because I a) did reseach and b) am reasonably pleased with this chapter. The reason why Max is in a Japanese restaurant will be explained in the next chapter, because this one got a little too long. **

**I'm making a habit out of updating at odd hours. 1:35 AM this time...bad habit, but I'm on break. :) **

**Hey, does anyone know if underage people can buy lighters? I didn't research that.**

**Oh, and I read MAX. I thought it was better than TFW but not as good as the first three. Iggy really had no part. Bah. **

**So... questions, comments, requests, con-crit, virtual cookies and llamas are always welcome. Just review. Please. **

**Au revoir,**

**BlueWingedKitty**


	6. Bad Things Begin to Happen

**A/N Hellooo....I just realized I forgot Total. Yikes...Pretend he's been making snide remarks the last three chapters and I'll try and fix this. Inner Psycho is standing here saying "I wanna go, I wanna go" a bunch of times so blame her if the chapter turns out bad.**

"Bad news," I announced, landing gracefully in front of our little barn. "Pack up, I'll explain as we go." I tossed a couple of grocery bags at Fang, who was nearest.

"Really this bad?" he asked me, dark eyes serious. I nodded. "We need to leave."

"We need to eat," Gazzy pointed out as he flew from a window in the hayloft. I looked at Nudge. "How much food did you buy?"

She shrugged, stuffing a plastic bag in her backpack. "Some tinned stuff, chips, trail mix, bars... light snacks, mostly. Water. Bread, I think. No real meal stuff...there wasn't time to get more."

"Well, there's not much I can do with that. Why wasn't there time?" Iggy asked, coming out of the barn, towing a sleepy Angel behind him and carrying the rest of our stuff.

"Nudge saw some Erasers in the town. We rushed straight back. And this is why we need to _go _." Kneeling, I began to squish a plastic bag into my pack.

"Erasers?" Angel asked drowsily.

"Yeah," I said. "Did you sleep all right, Ange?"

"Yeah," she rubbed her eyes. "I feel better."

"Here," Fang said kneeling beside me. He shifted some of my clothes to the side as I managed to shove the bag into my pack. I was suddenly aware of how very close we were to each other. It would be so easy to reach out...

I stood up. This was ridiculous. Fang and I had grown up with each other. We'd been closer than this before, and now was no time to get all hormone-y and girly. _If_ I was every going to be hormone-y and girly. Unlikely. Right now, I needed to be leaderly.

"Okay, everyone ready?" I asked in a brisk way. Leaderly. Leaderly. Leaderly. Ugh, it's not even a WORD.

"Yep," Gazzy said, shouldering his pack. Nudge nodded. Iggy had his wings out.

_Ready_, Angel said. You know, in my mind.

"U& A," I said, taking a running start. Mentally, I sighed. On the run. Again.

PAGEBREAK....................................................................................................

"Max," Gazzy said, angling down near me. I knew that tone. I'd heard it for years and years, whenever it was mealtime and Iggy was preoccupied with his...talent.

"You're hungry?" I asked.

"...yeah."

"And you want me to do something about it?"

"...well, yeah."

I sighed, using my wonderful well of patience. "And I'm taking it you don't want me to cook."

The Gasman looked horror-struck.

"I'll take that as a no..." I looked at my flock who were all staring back at me hopefully. Actually, Iggy didn't. Obviously. And Fang just looked as unreadable as always. Nudge was starting to give me Bambi eyes, so _hopeful_ was putting it kinda lightly. As for Angel...I just don't look at Angel in these situations. Can anyone tell me _why?_

"Look, I know you're all hungry, but Nudge has that trail mix stuff, right?" Apparently, they didn't get the whole "running for life" concept. You don't exactly stop for _dinner breaks. _

"Well," Iggy said slowly. "I dunno if you recall this, but all we had today to eat were Nurtigrain bars and one can of cold ravioli. That was—you know--, the whole point of you and Nudge getting food..."

"Plus," Nudge cut in. "If you want any food, like, at all, we're going to have to land, there's no way I can get it out of my backpack—and I think we need new backpacks, because these look like they're about to fall apart—"

"We need some duct tape too," Fang murmured. For some reason, I had a lot of trouble suppressing an un-ladylike snort. What was WRONG WITH ME?

At any rate, even _I_ was hungry. And we were still ahead of the Erasers, _if _they _were_ Erasers...

Still, I couldn't help but think of the last time we ate out. Which, as I'm sure you'll recall, ended badly. To say the least.

"It's okay, Max." Angel had been quiet—like Fang quiet—the entire flight. "We'll be fine. We really do need to eat, though." I looked. She really looked much better—less tired, eyes brighter.

"What, you a fortune teller now?" I grumbled. Okay, okay. I was hungry too. Sigh....restaurant time.

PAGEBREAK....................................................................................................

Chopsticks. Seriously. I mean, we, the flock, barely manage silverware, so _of course_ the only restaurant open in the next town was a Japanese place, so _of course_ they had chopsticks. And of_ course_ we had no idea how to use chopsticks.

"Try holding it like a pencil," Total coughed. I glared at him.

"Dogs don't cough..." I said through clenched teeth. The only reason Total was in here was because Angel told the hostess (In perfect Japanese...she had this whole explanation about how she could extract words from peoples' minds, but I told her as long as it wasn't mind control, I was good.) that Total was Iggy's seeing eye dog, he was well trained, house broken and with no mess. I'd noticed that Total had been keeping Angel company when she was awake (which was a lot) so he'd been totally konked out for the past 24 hours.

"If only I had opposable thumbs," he muttered. I rolled my eyes. We were crammed into a booth with our shoes off (because the little sign said so) wings folded as tight as possible. Of course Total's wings blended into his fur really well, so _ he _ wasn't suffering.

"Look, I'm starving! Get me some of that cat puke salad if you're not eating it!" Total hissed.

I elbowed him. "Shut up, the girl over there is staring at us." But I stealthily lowered the salad anyways. There were only a few other people in the restaurant: an elderly Asian couple (not dangerous) a young teenage girl and her family (not dangerous, the girl was mostly texting) a college dude reading (not dangerous, he kept missing his mouth with his chopsticks) and a young mother and a quietly bawling infant ( definitely not dangerous) .

In case you were wondering, the seating arrangements went something like this. Iggy (Total) me, Fang, Angel across Fang, Gazzy across me, and Nudge in the other corner of the booth. Very, very squished. Even without our backpacks, which we had ditched in a nearby tree, it was a tight fit.

"And here is your soup and your food," the nice Japanese lady said, beaming at Angel as she doled out lacquered red boxes with food in them.

_Max_?

A sudden pain jolted through my brain, causing me to jerk my hand. My water glass hit the table, spraying ice cubes everywhere. I gritted my teeth. It was like being electrocuted. A sharp, sudden pain. Like the time when—

"CRAP!" I yelled. The couple, the girl and her family, the mother and even the college booknoodle looked up. "Uh—hot," I said, vaughly gesturing towards the salad, and taking a gulp of Fang's water. The lady continued staring.

"I'll get more water," she said, then added something in Japanese to Angel and walked off.

"She said not to eat the sauce if you thought the salad was hot," Angel said, blue eyes on me. _Max, I think you have another Voice_.

Great. Exactly what I wanted to hear. I realized my hand was shaking.

"Max, are you all right?" Fang asked quietly. What I wanted to say was "No! NO I'M NOT! I have ANOTHER Voice in my head, we're on the run AGAIN, and I'm starting to feel really strange" but of course I didn't.

"Brain attack," I muttered. His eyes widened half a fraction of an inch. His version of extremely alarmed.

_Max. _

"OW!" I winced. This was not good.

"But that's--," Fang really did look alarmed now.

"Yes, I know," I mumbled. "Eat fast, I want to get out of here before something bad happens." They obeyed, Gazzy impaling teriyaki on his chopstick.

"Uh, I don't think that's how you use those," Nudge told him.

" But I'm starving!" Gazzy complained, spearing a shrimp. I was starting to tremble all over. Shock, I guess.

"Whatever works," I told him.

_Max, I _ know_ it's really hard, but you have got to eat. This Voice isn't going to be as bad as the others, it feels different. Just finish dinner and I'll try and help the pain tonight,_ Angel said, sounding calm and collected. Can we say role reversal?

I ate, even though my stomach was a big knot of worry. By the time the lady came back with water, about five minutes later, we were a quarter of the way done with the meal.

Twenty minutes later: "Check," I said. The lady nodded and came over with our receipt. I felt like I was about to puke. The feeling intensified as I looked down at the price. Now I was having brain attacks, nausea and such severe sticker shock I felt like I'd just had a heart attack. _How did we just spend $134.95?!_ My mind shieked.

_By not actually looking at the prices_, the reasonable part of my mind responded. Great, now I was talking to myself. As if I didn't have enough problems already...

As I rifled through my pockets for our remaining cash, Nudge kicked me and jerked her head meaningfully at the window. A black SUV with tinted windows was just pulling in the parking lot. _Equinox_, she mouthed.

I felt like banging my head against the table. Repeatedly. Hard. Instead, I allowed myself three seconds of complete panic before dealing with the situation.

"Thank you," I said as brightly as I could, handing the cash to the lady, tumbling out of the booth and shoving on my shoes. In the parking lot, I saw a tall figure climb out of the driver's seat. The lighting was bad, but if I had any doubt about what he was, it was cleared away in that instant. He was an Eraser.

"Okay, we are leaving now," I said, clenching my teeth as I saw two, three, four, five, six figures get out of the Equinox.

"Ah, crap, Erasers? Really?" Iggy asked as he scrambled out of the booth. "Where are my shoes?"

"Really," I said grimly, handing them to him. "We are not going out of the front door." I looked around. Aha! Another exit. Convenient. "Come on. Walk slow, don't attract attention."

Too bad it was a fire exit.

"Okay, run, that way!" I shouted, as the alarms started screeching and the sprinklers were triggered. People started to yell.

"Woods! Get to the—oof!" I had just run into Nudge. That girl had one low center of gravity. She was still standing, staring at the Equinox.

"Nudge, let's GO!"

"It's supposed to be state of the art..." she said slowly. "Leather interior..."

"Later, Nudge..."

"Hey, she's got a point," Iggy interjected. "The Erasers wouldn't have a car."

"Oh, no. No, no, no..."

"Please, Max?" Gazzy pleaded. That's when I learned that the girls taught him the Bambi eyes.

"It'd be bad if you got a brain attack while flying," Fang added calmly. "And it looks like it's going to rain."

I gave up. "Someone else had better hotwire it," I said, climbing into the driver's seat. It was unlocked. Really? Wow.

They were so happy, they didn't complain I was driving.

**A/N This is a record...I updated within a month. Amazing. **

**Okay, here's the deal: I stayed up until four in the morning to finish this chapter, and I want reviews. I got FOUR reviews last time. I KNOW you can do better than 4 reviews. I KNOW a bunch of you have me on alert and I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. If I don't get more than FOUR reviews, I'm killing Fang off in the next chapter. He'll be electrocuted while hotwiring the car. ZAP! End of story, ta-da, goodbye. The end. **

**Not kidding. I'm getting pretty desperate here, people. **

**Peace,**

**BlueWingedKItty **


	7. Two and Two Equals Five and a Half

**A/N All right, I admit it. I spazzed a bit; I blame it on sleep deprivation. I really wanted reviews (don't we all?), and I kinda wanted to see the reactions to me threatening to kill Fang. (Amusing.) But he is not going to die, and there is another chapter. Sorry for scaring all of you. :)**

**Well, I'm currently really busy. I have a play tomorrow, wish me luck!**

**Here it is: **

Me driving did _not_ last long. We managed to get out of the parking lot with the hotwired car without anyone noticing—which in and of itself was some sort of miracle—but then the problem remained of us being...lost.

Hey, the ground looks different from the sky.

"I'm pretty sure it's that way," Nudge said impatiently pointing. "I know we weren't this far off."

"Uh, no. We were over there," Iggy interrupted, pointing in the completely opposite direction. "I know it."

"Wasn't it by a park?" Total asked, flicking an ear.

"Guys, didn't we pass that sign already?" Gazzy asked, looking concerned. We had. Twice. Fang said nothing, just looking at me steadily.

"We had a map in the backpacks!" Nudge pointed out.

"In the backpacks. _Which we can't find_," Iggy muttered acidly, rolling his eyes. "No _duh_, Nudge."

"Isn't there a GPS in the car?" the Gasman asked.

"Well, yes, but generally GPS systems are more useful when you actually KNOW where you're going..." Total pointed out tactfully.

Two more minutes of Nudge and Iggy bickering, and I was fed up. Plus, there was the lingering threat of another brain attack, which is probably right up the on the "Do Not Drive When" list next to drunk and talking on cell phones.

Fang had just been staring at me steadily.

"Ugh! Fine, you win!" I grumbled, jerking on the steering wheel and pulling over. "_You _drive."

"I didn't say anything," Fang said mildly. I hit him. Very firmly. "_Ow_."

"_Just drive_," I practically snarled, got out and stalked over to the passenger side. I threw myself in, shut my eyes and reclined my chair.

"Max...I kinda can't move my legs," Iggy told me.

"Big deal," I muttered irritably.

"Or my arms. Or any part of my body, actually, because your seat is so far back, you're practically in my lap," Iggy informed me. "So _move_."

"Ugh, _you_ move, you _moron_. I'm the one having brain attacks here," I said grumpily.

"Um, how?"

"I dunno. I just want to sleep," I mumbled, head throbbing. I didn't even to _think_ about having another Voice in my head. It was just way too much to handle. On the other hand, sleeping might be a bad idea too, if Angel was right and someone was sending me dreams.

What a mess.

So, I reclined, trying to sleep, but not sleeping. Maybe being in, like, a trance would solve my problems. But I was still—unfortunately—awake when Nudge spoke up.

"Fang, why are we going this way? It's not anywhere near where we put the backpacks...why are we going to the interstate?" Nudge asked, sounding confused.

"Because we've been followed for the last five minutes," he answered coolly.

"_What_?"

"_Don't_ look back!" I sat bolt upright. No naps for me. Or...trances. Sigh. I sneakily peeked into the side view mirror. Yup, that was more like it: White, unmarked van with tinted windows. No funky unreleased Chevys.

The van was weaving in and out of the traffic, always staying two or three cars behind. I rubbed my temples as Fang maneuvered the Chevy in front of a trailer. "Okay, okay," I said. "Think, Max, think." Okay. Erasers following us to restaurant. New Voice. More Erasers.

I put two and two together and got five and half. This was not adding up. And it was torture on my throbbing brain. "Ugh..."

Fang swerved in front of a large green SUV. I clutched the seat, very determined not to throw up. Wouldn't that just be swell?

I inhaled, counted to five and exhaled. It didn't make the least bit of difference. "Where are the backpacks?" I asked slowly.

This set off a storm of comments, most of them shouted. I cringed. "Fang?" I squeaked.

He looked at me. "First, they were south of that restaurant in the park."

"HAH!" Nudge yelled. I winced. "Sorry."

"But," he continued unhurriedly and deliberately while squeezing between two sixteen wheelers. The speedometer began crawling ever so subtlety towards 75 MPH. Which was ten miles above the speed limit. "Max said it was too close too that neighborhood, and me, Iggy and Gazzy went back north and put them in a nature reserve."

"Told you so," Iggy told Nudge, thankfully at a normal voice. She hmphed.

"I did?" I asked blankly.

Fang nodded, eyes locked on the rearview mirror where the white van was beginning to gain on us.

"Oh, go on," I said tiredly. "Speed up, they know we see them." Without warning, Fang floored the gas pedal and we were all thrown back in our seats. The SUV zoomed forwards, narrowly missed a couple of foreign sports cars and dodged a pickup.

"WHOA!"

"Geez."

"That was _completely unnecessary_," sniffed Total.

Fang lightened up. But only slightly.

"Do you remember where it was?" I asked, after I'd finished swearing nastily in my head. Trying to protect innocent ears. Which was pointless, really, because everyone present had seen and heard much worse. But still.

Fang nodded again. The van was trying to catch up, but had been blocked by the pickup truck. _Ha. Suckers. _

"Okay. We're going to get as close as possible, then we'll jump out of the skylight, fly like heck, grab the packs and run," I told them. This improvised plan was not greeted with enthusiasm. In fact, it was greeted with glum silence.

"That's not going to work," Iggy said finally.

"Yes, it is," I snapped.

"I want to keep the car," Nudge said wistfully. I snorted. _Dream on_.

"How about this," Gazzy said, rather timidly. "We split up, half of us get the backpacks, the other half drives around, we meet up someplace and drive off?"

"That's...not a bad idea," I said. "Will it work?"

"Can't be too hard," Iggy said.

"Yeah," Nudge agreed.

Fang nodded, and Angel looked at me solemnly. "I need to stay," she said.

"Fang needs to drive," I said, looking over the remainder of the flock.

"I'm going," Iggy, Gazzy and Nudge said at once.

I closed my eyes. My headache was returning in all its glory.

"We'll all go," I said, gritting my teeth, and not opening my eyes. "Even me."

"Max—" Fang said warningly.

"Are you going to stop me?" I interrupted. He was silent. "Didn't think so. Okay. Open the skylight and get ready to pull over. Unbuckle, guys."

The skylight retracted, and four clicks meant that we were ready. As ready as we'd ever be. Fang pulled over to the shoulder.

"Go!"

One by one, we leapt out of the SUV and into the now starry sky. It probably looked pretty cool. Like, James Bond cool. Only we didn't have a theme song.

I didn't dare look back as we turned north.

Seven minutes later, we were circling about a nature reserve. It just looked like a big sandy desert...in short, like everything else.

"Okay, Gazzy, where'd you guys put the backpacks?" I said.

He scanned the landscape carefully. "There," he pointed to a dense clump of brush.

I swooped down, landing a few yards away. Sure enough, jammed under a bush, were our overstuffed backpacks.

"Over here, guys..."

And ten minutes after that we were circling the parked SUV in one of those carpool lots. "Okay, go on in," I said, waving Nudge onwards.

Mission accomplished. Pat on the back for Max.

Not really.

I, unfortunately, failed to see the white van pulled onto the side of the highway. I also failed to notice the tranquilaizer gun poked out of the window. That is, until I was hit.

I looked down at a hypodermic needle buried in my leg. _Crap_, I thought fuzzily, and I began to fall. Dimly I heard Nudge screaming, and someone grabbing me under my arms. The last thing I heard was Iggy yelling "Where's the freaking skylight?" except he didn't say 'freaking' if you get my drift. _I'm going to have to talk to him about the _language, I decided, then everything dissolved into black.

**A/N: Ooh, cliffie. Okay, so I'd like everyone to review...at least everyone who reviewed last time. That would be nice. :) Wish me happy birthday, it was on Friday.**

**Update: I dunno. But the next chapter will have Fax. I promise. **

**Ciao,**

**BlueWingedKitty. **


	8. Headaches

_The last thing I heard was Iggy yelling "Where's the freaking skylight?" except he didn't say 'freaking' if you get my drift_. I'm going to have to talk to him about the language_, I decided, and then everything dissolved into black._

"Max, you know what you need to tell him, before it's too late," Iggy said, yanking out another tissue and offering it to me. "Pull yourself together."

I took the tissue. "It's already too late," I whispered, feeling the tears gather behind my eyes. I closed them, pushing the tears out of my eyes and down my cheeks.

I felt Iggy's weight at the end of my bed. "I am so not cut out for this," he mumbled. "Look, Max, you can mope and cry and depress yourself and that won't do any good. You can either get it together and get over this, or you can do something. Got it?" He smacked the tissue box on the bed for emphasis.

Despite myself, I let out a watery-chuckle that sort of morphed into a sob. "Now I know why guys aren't good for personal advice."

"Whatever." I felt the weight on the end of my bed disappear. "I have to go unpack. If you don't come out by the time we have pizza, I'll tell everyone you're sick." I heard him walk out and shut the door.

So now what? I wiped my eyes with the tissue and laid back, twisting onto my stomach. Suddenly I was very tired. Wiped out, exhausted. Emotionally and physically. I buried my face in my pillow, feeling a couple more tears leak out.

"Now what do I do?" I asked myself, voice muffled by the pillow. And I had no answer.

I slipped into a fitful sleep, waking up when the garage door opened. Garbled voiced drifted down the hallway. I shut my eyes tighter and curled up.

Some time later, I heard my door open, and a cool hand was pressed to my cheek. "She's a little warm," Dr. Martinez whispered. "We won't wake her up. Angel, go put a note on the fridge telling her where the pizza is."

After the door was gently pulled shut, I opened my eyes and rolled onto my back. I wasn't going to be able to sleep, that was for sure. I had come to a decision.

_I absolutely had to do something or I'd go insane. _

I knew I was conscious because I had a killer headache. The mother of all killer headaches. It felt like there was a small person determined to slice my head in half stabbing the top of my head again and again and again and again and again.....

Blindly, I felt someone above me. Since I currently had no clue where I was, I was taking no chances. With a snarl, my eyes flew open and I grabbed the first thing I saw (which happened to be hand) in a death grip, and yanking it down , prepared to use a number of wrist locks that would cause the owner of the hand great pain.

The owner of the hand happened to be Fang. And I happened to be holding his hand very tightly with my face inches from his.

Awkward.

I let go quickly and took a deep breath, sitting up. I was in the back seat of the Equinox. The rest of the flock was gathered around, looking on worriedly. Rain was pelting the car, and the metallic _plinks_ were not helping my headache.

"How long was I out?" I croaked. "Where—wh—what happened?"

"Twenty minutes," Fang told me, holding up a small dart. I glanced down. There was a prick in my jeans.

"You got hit, me and Nudge got you to the car, and Fang took off like a madman," Iggy filled in. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

"The van," I said, massaging my throbbing temples. "Was it—"

"Disappeared," Fang said shortly.

I frowned, trying to think. "Oh. Um, okay. Can we stay here for the night or should we move?"

"We're an SUV in the middle of the desert," Iggy told me. "Can I drive?"

"_No_," Fang said, and he opened his door, walking around to the driver's seat. Iggy sighed and clambered into shotgun.

"That was really scary, Max," the Gasman told me, blue eyes wide. I ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, well, I'm okay, now." _Not really_.

_What?_

I sighed mentally, glancing at Angel. Her brow was furrowed. Well, she'd find out soon enough, might as well tell her.

_I got sent one of those little dream thingies, _I told her. Her eyes widened too.

The van started up, purring to life. I fastened my seatbelt.

"Are we sure that there wasn't anything else in that dart?" I asked, the thought striking me.

"I didn't smell anything," Total informed me from Angel's lap.

"Since when have you been able to smell that stuff?" I asked. Total sniffed.

"I grew up in a lab too, you know," he said. "_And_ I have a better nose."

I closed my eyes and leaned against the window. You know that feeling when you see someone that starred in a dream of yours recently? Kind of that déjà vu awkwardness? I hope so, cause I suck at descriptions. Anyways, I was having that feeling about Iggy and Fang. And I really didn't like it.

"Hey, Max?" Nudge broke into my thoughts. I opened my eyes. She fidgeted with her hair. "Could we, like, you know, actually sleep in a hotel tonight?"

I groaned quietly. "I don't think so. We don't have any money and hotels...well, what happened last time we went to a hotel?"

"We went to I-HOP," Nudge answered promptly. I sighed.

"The other time? When I was kidnapped and replaced with a clone that was plotting our destruction with Itex?"

"Yes..." Nudge said slowly, like she was pointing something out that was very obvious. "But we'd go to a better one this time."

"We don't have _money_," I pointed out, rubbing my forehead.

"Max Card," Nudge said. She looked up at me. "Please? I want to sleep in a real bed tonight." She looked at me mournfully, and I averted my gaze before she could nail me with Bambi eyes.

Ugh. I hate squishing people's dreams like the next person, but sometimes I had to be the meanie. "The point is, hotels aren't really safe," I began.

"Actually, I kind of like that idea," Total chimed in.

"I'm okay with it," Iggy added.

"Yeah," Gazzy agreed.

Fang nodded once.

Why, oh why was I the only one with common sense?

"Well," I said, trying to ignore the pounding of my head. "To get into any reasonable hotel, you'd need an adult. Do we have one? No."

There was silence after my little reality check. Then Total said, "You're forgetting something."

"What?" I said, nearly banging my head on the window in frustration, but it already felt like someone was doing that for me.

"We have someone who can make herself look like an adult," Total said pointedly, looking at Angel. AKA Freakish Morphing Child.

I looked at Angel. She had a small smile on her face. "Okay, fine. You all win," I grumbled. I won't lie. A bed sounded wonderful. "Angel, go look and see if there are any clothes that you can fit into when you grow. Um, Gazzy, why don't you go with her when she checks in. And I'll come too." I narrowed my eyes at Fang in the rearview mirror. He looked like he was about to argue. "Obviously."

Half an hour later, I was standing, drenched, in a marble covered lobby. My feet were killing me because I was wearing Gazzy's shoes. And my head was still throbbing. Less sharp than before but still, not pleasant.

Gazzy had a face on because he was wearing Angel's shoes, and Angel was wearing my shoes. She was currently a tired looking dark blond lady wearing sweats and a hoodie.

My heart was thumping painfully. Were we going to pull this off or were we in for another surprise? I really hoped not. I'd had enough surprises. For a lifetime.

"Maxine Rider?" the lady behind the counter asked blandly. Angel nodded. The lady gave her some forms. "Sign these, please."

I wandered over to the whooshing glass doors, the textbook definition of "bored teen", but sneakily giving a thumbs up sign to the SUV in the parking lot. Meaning we had gotten in and hadn't been attacked by mad scientists or their genetically enhanced cronies. Yet.

"Henrietta!" Angel called. "We're getting our stuff!"

"Henrietta?" I murmured when she was close enough to hear. She smiled wearily. "C'mon, Ange. Almost done, then you can go rest." I led us over to the side entrance where the Equinox was parked. Gazzy pushed open the door for the rest of the flock, with Total acting as Iggy's guide dog.

"Rooms 320 and 322," I told them. "Stairs are in that direction."

Angel shank back to her normal size and collapsed on one of the beds as soon as we got into one of the rooms. Apparently, the shape-shifting took a lot out of her, and she was way too tired anyways.

I sent the guys into the other room, and Nudge into the shower. After that, I dragged the coffee table in front of the door, wedging it under the door knob. And then I deadbolted the door. And then I duct-taped it. (Hey. Never hurts.) Then I duct taped the windows. Hey, if you were me, you'd be paranoid too. Luckily we didn't have a balcony.

Then I sank down onto the couch, utterly exhausted. Seriously. I closed my eyes for a moment, and must have dozed off, because Nudge was shaking my shoulder and saying "Max, the shower's ready."

I forced myself to open my eyes. "I think I'd fall asleep in the shower," I mumbled. "Help me unfold the couch. Oh, and can you give the duct tape to the guys? Tell them to block the door."

"With duct tape?" Nudge sounded confused.

I sighed. "Hey, I'll do it. Just can you unfold the couch?"

"Only if I get the bed."

"You drive a hard bargain, but, yes." I opened the adjoining door, yawning. I heard the shower running. Gazzy was sleeping and Fang had just finished propping the coffee table in front of the door.

I grinned. "Want this?" I asked, tossing the duct tape to him. A corner of his mouth twitched. "Yeah, don't forget the windows," I added and turned on my heel.

Nudge had set up the couch bed and was climbing into her bed as I walked in. "Night, Max," she mumbled and flicked off the light. I quietly tiptoed to my pack, groping around until I found my toothbrush and toothpaste.

As I walked into the bathroom I glanced in the mirror.

Yeesh, I looked like crap. My hair was all oily and gross looking. The t-shirt I was wearing was stained with dirt and sweat. I had purple shadows under my eyes and a scabbing cut under my jaw that I didn't remember getting, plus a split lip. Even my wings looked disheveled. I looked down. My jeans were ripped and the hems caked with dirt and gravel.

I stared at the Icky Max in the mirror. "You need a shower," I told her. She sighed.

Luckily, I didn't fall asleep in the shower, and I felt much cleaner as I slipped into a black tank top and sweats. I didn't feel nearly as exhausted as I had before and my headache had all but disappeared.

Angel and Nudge were out cold, so I switched on the TV, put the volume on low and channel surfed until I found something mildly interesting. (Orlando Bloom in a pirate costume with his shirt off. If you must know.) I stared at the flickering people on the screen with all their CGI underwater gunkiness until a commercial break, not really seeing them.

Just then, I heard a thud. I shut off the TV, and glanced at the clock. 12:09. Footsteps were coming from the other room. Well, crap. If some Erasers got into the boys room, we were dead.

I crept off the couch and stood flat on the wall behind the door, heart thudding. A night's rest was too good to be true, apparently.

The door eased open. I crouched, tense, as a dark shape shuffled into the room. _One...two...three._ I leapt at it, nailing whoever it was with a beautiful soundless flying ninja tackle.

I pinned the shape to the floor. "Who are you?" I hissed.

A groan. "Get off me. Please."

I stood up, startled. Fang lay wincing on the floor, curled protectively around his laptop.

"Geez, Fang!" I said in an undertone. "Were you _trying _ to give me a heart attack?"

He got to his feet, inspecting his laptop. "Were you _trying_ to kill me?"

"Actually, yes." I crossed the room and flopped down on the sofa. "Could you have knocked?"

"I thought you'd be asleep."

Not likely. I looked at him. He shrugged. "I was hoping," he said.

"So why are you in here?" I said.

"Someone stuffed gum into the outlet of the other room. I wanted to use yours."

I gestured at the outlet by the desk. "By all means."

Instead he sat down next to me. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Other than nearly dying of cardiac arrest, headaches, nausea, and another possible Voice, I'm hunky-dory," I said sarcastically.

He gazed at me. "Max. Really."

"Well, obviously, no," I said.

"So what can I do?"

I sighed, thinking. Really, nothing. I was pretty much solo on this one. Which sucked, because I felt like I was going to explode, I was that fed up of _not _freaking _knowing_.

_I think I can help with that._

It felt like someone had shot me through the head. A sharp, probing pain. And everything got very hazy. Dimly, I sensed Fang grabbing me, wrapping both hands around my arms painfully. "Max? Max, are you okay?"

I'd have loved to answer and tell him get the frigging crap off me, but at that oh-so-convenient moment, I realized I was in too much pain to talk.

_Stop, Max! You're only going to make it worse if you fight it, _a voice told me.

_Helllooo?_ I asked snippily. _I'm a bit in the dark here. Howsabout you tell me who you are? That would be a start. _

There was a pause._ I'm a friend. I genuinely care about you, Max_.

I snorted. _That's what the last one said too_. _And yet I am currently in too much pain to think coherently, let alone do anything extravagant, like, say, _move_. For instance. _

_You're thinking all right,_ the New Voice chuckled. _Just relax_.

_Um, try no_. I focused all my energy on trying to sit up, and let out a cry of pain. I felt Fang try and support me. "Okay, Max, deep breaths," he said quietly, sounding panicked. I frowned. That couldn't be right. Fang.....panicky?

_Oh, Max_, The New Voice sighed, sounding tired. _Here. I'll make it easier for you, okay?_

Then, for the second time in the last four hours, I blacked out. Sigh...

**A/N: Hello, I'm down here today! I'm EXTREMELY busy. Not even funny. But I managed to squeach (yes, squeach) out an extra long chapter for youse. You're welcome. **

**Okay, so I know that the beginning was wee bit confusing. It was a continuation of the dream from chapter one. Go back and read it. **

**Um, about the Fax: I tried. I got a bit in there. More mushy stuff just didn't work here. So yeah. I'll put more in.**

**Update: Sooner. I can almost guarantee. The next chapter will be a plot mover, yet not very exciting. Stay tuned. **

**Questions of the moment: Who likes the little flashback/dreams? Who hates them? **_**WHY ARE LLAMAS NOT BLUE? **_


	9. Awful and Inevitable

**A/N I got back from camp with a tan (slightly on arms and face. Good.) and 51—count 'em—mosquito bites. (Not good.) So I'm here to update (finally) and thank my reviewers (especially the anonymous ones—you rock...I'll try to reply to you rocking anonymouses next chapter...) and wish you a happy summer. **

**Ta-da!**

I was out cold, and I knew it.

_Max, can you listen?_

_No._ I tried to reach consciousness and failed. I could feel my body limp and I could feel Fang's arms, but I couldn't do anything. Incredibly frustrating.

_Now?_

I sighed mentally. _I have no choice, obviously._

_Great. Okay. Max, I really, honestly do care for you. Very, very much. And I want what's best for you._

_Go on..._ Cool, I can still do sarcasm when talking to a voice in my head. Wonders never cease.

_I've been sending you the dreams_.

Really, now. _Hm. Shocker._

_There's a reason too. Max, you have _got_ to tell Fang about your feelings for him._

There was silence.

I soaked that in.

What should I do now? Act defensive? Be in denial?

Or face the awful, inevitable truth?

..._I loved him?!_

Can you even _love_ someone at fourteen? Even someone you've know for...well, ever? Someone who's backed you up almost every day? Someone who you've watched grow? Someone who's made the beds with you, fought with you and for you, been there your whole life? Can you love someone like that?

The New Voice gave an almost audible sigh. _Yes, Max, you love him. _

I really wanted to bang my head against a nice, hard, cement wall, or jump off a cliff or something.

But I couldn't. Unfortunately.

_I...don't..._

_Yes, you do. You know in your heart that it's right_, The New Voice told me, a little smugly.

_Okay, rewind. This is starting to sound like a Disney Movie now. True love and all...that..._stuff._ Why are you here...in my head...anyways?_

_To tell you you have to admit you love Fang. That's very important. And two...well, I have some stuff to tell you. _

I froze. _Please tell me you are not about to give me the sex talk._

_No, Max. I'm not. This is something you'll want to know. It'll help you survive. _

Oh goodie.

_Max, I am a part of the School. _

I panicked.

_Don't panic, please! We're _helping _you!_

_That's what they said last time,_ I said (thought? I dunno.) coldly.

_We're working to overthrow Itex. Itex is _still_ out there, and they're hard at work trying to separate you and your flock. Especially Fang. They know you complete each other. You'll be much more vulnerable if he's out of the picture._

I swear, the Voice's tone went high pitched at 'you complete each other'. _How do I trust you?_

_I've met you before. My associates and I have had dozens of chances to kill you and we haven't yet. And I'm giving you advice now._

I decided not to point out the obvious: feeding false info to me so as to bring about my downfall, yadda, yadda, ya...

_Okay, Max. Just admit it. You love Fang. What harm could come out of that?_

_Um...a weak spot._

_No, you two make each other stronger. _

_Okay, for the sake of argument, let's say I...you know. Then what?  
_

_That'll keep him close to you. _

_ARGH. I cannot deal with this right now_. I was really ready to punch this Voice.

_Okay, Max. _The New Voice said gently. _You're tired. Rest. Remember what I said. _

_What part? _I asked sarcastically, just for something to say.

But no reply.

And then, I was conscious.

I didn't open my eyes right away. I was way too comfortable. For the first time today. Warm and comfy and...

"Max?" Fang whispered softly, but urgently. He seemed to be near a panicking point.

Aw, that was sweet.

No, I didn't just think that.

Yes. Yes, I did.

Oh, goodness.

Son of a monkey.

My eyes fluttered open. I was nestled between Fang's arms. He was holding me up, tightly. I felt a small jolt of electricity run through me.

"Yeah, I'm back," I croaked, then shifted. Fang let go, warily.

"So?" he asked.

"New Voice," I said tiredly, rubbing my head.

"Saying what?"

_Oh, like I'm going to tell you_. "Usual crap."

He continued looking at me a moment longer. He knew I wasn't saying the whole truth.

"Are you okay?"

I reached over gingerly and patted his arm. "Yeah, I'm all good."

He jumped a little bit when I touched him. "Night, Max."

"Aren't you going to plug in the laptop?" I asked, rolling my shoulders. Fang was already standing, blocking the moonlight.

"Nah. I'm sleepy now." He looked down at me once more. I drew my legs up to my chest.

"Well. G'night."

And he walked back into his room, leaving my with my ever-so-confusing thoughts. I watched him go, with mingled feelings of regret and relief.

So. Fang. My right hand man for many, many years. Probably my best friend. Certainly someone I trusted with my life and everyone else's in the flock. When he'd split, it felt like half of me was missing. It wasn't _right_. And when he'd kissed me, at the pier and at the cave, well, part of that felt right too. The part that had been swamped by my utter terror both times because it felt like my brain was shorting out.

So what did that mean?

_Click_.

I let off a long, low string of cusswords.

I loved Fang.

_Crap._

**A/N: Eh, I know that was bad. And short. It's way too late/early. I just want something up. Something with something in the something that could possibly potentially in an alternate universe be called Fax. A shock, I know.**

**Yeah, yeah. You know the drill. Review, I'll be happy. Don't review, I kill Fang.**

**Kidding. **

**BlueWingedKitty.**


	10. Too Late

**A/N: ...hi. Again. I'm updating. Enjoy. Oh, and check out my other story: Dear Fnick. I don't really feel like writing a huge big A/N so just see the ones on there. Okay, onwards!**

**Wait! **

**Okay, I know I promised to try and get all the annonymous reviews, but it's currently 3:40 AM and I wanna get this posted tonight. I'm so sorry, but I read each and every one of the reviews I get and I reply to all of them(or try to)...if not by PM then in my head. So I'm sorry. I'll try to get the annonymous reviewers recognition at some point before the story ends. But THANK YOU. **

* * *

They say when you have a problem, the first step is admitting it. That you have a problem, that is. Then you can go about fixing it, however that works.

Well, I certainly had a problem. _And _I'd admitted it. So I'm pretty much home free, right? Tell Fang I love him, big kiss and then the happily ever after.

Not so easy.

So I woke up to a very loud and rambunctious Gazzy and loud and rambunctious Nudge. Because, guess what, they were _hungry. _So they come barging in my room (well, the girl's room) and yelling "Can we go eat? Iggy said we had to ask you! Can we eat? Can we?"

My response: "Sure...yeah....mhmmm..."

Then I processed things. "WAIT." I pulled myself up. "I'll—I'll come with you..." I was _exhausted _on account of staying up to watch Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp and some other guy beat the crap out of each other on a giant wheel-thing while Keira Knightly threw a hissy fit on the beach. It was an addicting movie. Action, drama, fantasy...oh and romance. I watched Elizabeth betray Will and kill Jack with one teensy weensy kiss and I thought _Oh, if only my lovelife was that simple._

Anyways, it was past two when I nodded off. And it was now—I glanced blearily at the digital clock on the VCR—7:51 AM. I just groaned.

Nudge and Gazzy looked at each other. "We'll ask Iggy," Nudge said.

"M'kay," I agreed, flopping back down and closing my eyes. "Hey wait...where's Fang?"

"Still sleeping," Gazzy said.

Huh. I curled up...

...and woke up what seemed like ten seconds later by a bright eyed and bushy tailed Angel.

"Hey, Max, it's like, 9:40, can we eat? Cause breakfast is only until ten."

Ughhhh. I counted to ten, then dragged myself upright. "Is Fang awake yet?"

"No, I'll go wake him up!" Angel ran into the boy's room.

I sighed, shoved my sock-less feet into my sneakers and put my hair up in a ponytail. By then, Angel ahd dragged Fang into the hallway and had come back for me. When we were both standing mutely in the hall, yawning and rubbing our eyes, she shepherded us into the dining room.

Where, to my great surprise, we ran into Iggy, Nudge and Gazzy.

"You were eating breakfast for two hours?" I demanded.

"It's free," Gazzy mumbled through a mouthful of toast.

"No, they found the arcade room. After I talked them out of going for a swim," Iggy said, sighing. "We got here about 45 minutes ago. By the way, the boiled eggs suck here." With that, he got up, Nudge and Gazzy following suit, the latter shoving a donut into his mouth.

We got food. A _lot_ of food.

"Well, she seems perkier this morning," I said as Angel headed for another helping of cereal. Fang nodded, taking a sip of his orange juice, eyes fixed on the TV screen above the mantle. "Hey, what time'd you get to sleep."

Not taking his eyes off the TV, he replied, "About three."

"Why so late?"

"Well," he said, tearing his eyes off the screen momentarily. "I had to wait for you to fall aslepp so I could use your outlet. What were you watching, by the way?"

"Pirates of the Caribbean. Why didn't you just come in?"

"Didn't want you to takle me again. Plus, I write better on the blog when I'm by myself." His eyes were glued back on the TV.

Okay, that last bit was bull. I'd seen him write on his precious blog a hundred times. I shook my head slightly and got up to get another little box of Lucky Charms (magically delicious!) I glanced up at the screen, expecting to see some interesting news story, explaining why Fang was so preoccupied.

It was the tail end of a commercial break. Either Fang had suddenly become fascinated by the Geico gecko, or he was hiding something.

I met up with Angel at the buffet table. She was completely loaded down. One bowl of cereal, one Styrofoam cup of coffee, another one of hot chocolate, a bagel, and two glazed donuts were all stacked precariously on a few slices of French toast. Noting my raised eyebrows, she said "Some of it's for Total," a little defensively.

"Right, sweetie." I eyed her tower of food and snagging my Lucky Charms. "Feeling better, then?"

"Much," she said happily. "I can ignore people's thoughts now! I slept really well last night." She tried balancing the coffee on top of the bagel on the donut on the toast on the plate.

What a great sentence. I can ignore people's thoughts now! Yippee!

"Ah, that's not going to work," I said, laughing a bit as I grabbed her drinks. "Glad to hear it, Angel." I looked around, noticing we were the last ones left. I stuck my tongue between my teeth and whistled. Fang turned around. "We're going," I called.

So basically, after Total had pigged out and everyone was showered, we checked out. We went an hour or two in the car before I finally managed to convince Nudge to ditch it. Then we were flying again.

I felt a ton better that day. The Voice—or neither Voice I should say—dropped in, I'd admitted (to myself, at least) that I loved Fang which was a huge burden off my mind and I felt clean for the first time since we'd left Dr. Martinez—Mom—in Arizona. Which was where we were headed. From what we could tell from the map and our own directional senses, we were a week or so away.

Nothing happened, which in my book, was a good day. Oh, except it seemed like Fang was ignoring me. But that was the only thing. And it wasn't that bad, he was just quieter than usual. Or so I thought.

We made camp at about five that evening. Everyone was pretty happy...a day of flying does that to you. Iggy was working on dinner, Nudge and Gazzy and Total were trying to play cards and I was just relaxing, until Angel pulled me out of camp with a serious look on her little face. That's when I knew something was up.

"Max," she said quietly.

"What?" I asked, alarmed. She looked like someone had died.

"Well, I'm not sure if I should tell you..." she bit her lip.

"Tell me, Angel," I said, my curiosity piqued, though I was still worried.

"Fang—might have found relatives—" she choked out. I was stunned. Angel took a deep breath. "He was looking around, he found a back door into Itex files on the School, and he found his last name, so he ran a Google search and he might've found an aunt and his grandparents." Angel looked up and me, then quickly away. "I—I thought you should know...he was going to tell you, I think...but..."

I was absolutely shocked. Unlike in my dream, the implications of Fang's discovery struck me immediately. I felt like my stomach and turned to lead and dropped suddenly.

_Too late._

I made it through the evening, and first watch. After the initial shock, I was just _numb_. I was still numb when Iggy woke up for the second watch.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" he demanded, toching me on the shoulder. I jumped.

"Oh, I was just gonna take your watch," I mumbled.

"Why?" He climbed onto the low tree branch I was sitting on. "Max, what's wrong? You've been really weird this evening. You're not—PMSing, are you?" He looked a little horrified.

"Um, no," I said quietly.

"Well...then what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

A sigh. "Okay, I hate when something's wrong and someone asks about it, and the other person says 'Nothing'."

I was silent. I'd had a very, very long time to think about what had happened. Fang would probably leave, I decided. And I'd had a long time to think about that too, and I'd concluded that it would be bad.

"It's Fang, isn't it," Iggy said. I jumped again.

"No," I said, too quickly.

"I knew it," Iggy said triumphantly. "So when's it due?"

I resisted the sudden impulse to push Iggy off the tree. "Not like that."

Iggy thought, narrowing his icy blue eyes. "You broke up?" he asked raising his eyebrows in confusion. "But you didn't go out! What did I miss?"

I heaved a sigh. "Complicated. Although I have to say that Dream Iggy was a lot more helpful than you are."

"Wait, what? Dream Iggy? What are you talking about?" Iggy frowned. I didn't offer any explanation. "Fine. I know how I'm going to fix this. I've seen enough Dr. Phil." He slid off the tree branch and headed off to camp.

I sighed again and turned to face the forest, slumping against the tree trunk and closing my eyes.

"Psst! Max!" Iggy hissed. I looked down. Iggy was gripping a very confused-looking Fang. "Down here, now!" I chose to ignore him.

"Fine," he muttered, letting go of Fang's arm and climbing up onto my branch. "Get down. Now," he ordered.

"No, Iggy, just go to sleep—"

"Fine," he interrupted. "You leave me no choice." And with that, he shoved me right off the tree branch.

"Oof!" I landed on my back. Completely winded, I sat up slowly, gasping for air.

"Right," Iggy said, slithering off the branch and onto the ground. "You two have been really weird all day and I don't think you've actually talked at all in the last seven hours. So," he said, grabbing Fang's arm and my wrist and hauling us after him. "You two are going to discuss whatever you need to discuss, right here, right now, and you are going to fix whatever happened." With that, he let go of us and gave us a good shove. "I'll be at camp." He walked back off.

There was an awkward silence.

I don't tend to do well with awkward, so I went on the offensive. "You've been avoiding me," I accused him. Fang looked at me, then sat on a tree root. I began to pace.

"No, I haven't," he said.

"Yes, you have." I continued pacing.

He sighed. I glared.

More silence

Finally, I couldn't take it. "When were you planning to tell me?" I asked softly. Fang glanced at me, and I saw the comprehension dawn in his eyes.

"Angel told you." He stood up. "What did she say?"

I wheeled around to face him. "What you should have told me! Were you planning on slipping away in the middle of the night or something?" I was now nose to nose with him. Or as nose-to-nose as two people who aren't the same height can get.

He looked startled. "I—what--? What are you talking about?"

"I know you wanted to find your family, but would you desert us? Why didn't you tell me right away?"

"I wanted to tell you myself, when I was ready." Fang's jaw was tight with anger.

"And when would that have been?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from rising.

"I don't _know _Max." Fang was really angry now. We were both trying to keep it down, but his voice had risen.

"_How can you not know?_" I hissed.

"Well, _maybe_ cause it's private, Max, and not really any of your business!"

"Not any of my business—!" I opened my mouth but decided not to reply, turning towards the camp instead.

"Wait," Fang caught my arm. I turned around. He was still angry. "Have you ever been in a position where you want to tell someone something desperately, but you just—couldn't?"

He let go. I could tell he wasn't expecting an answer.

I looked back, laughed mirthlessly and said bitterly "You have no idea, Fang. No idea."

**

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**

A/N Wow, that was kind of depressing

**-smack- Oh, wait, yeah, for those of you who caught my Author's Note/Chapter, I mentioned Amelia Atwater-Rhodes? Yeah, she's this author and she published her first book at age 13. It's called In the Forests of the Night, and it's pretty freaking awesome. So is Demon in my Veiw. It's like a fanfiction of her own story. And so is Hawksong. Which is about Avians. I reccomend it.**

**Three chapters plus the epilogue!**

**Reviews?**

**BlueWingedKitty**


	11. You're my WHAT?

**-whoosh- Look, guys! Those were the plans I had—you know, the ones I had about having this done before school starts? Yeah, look! They just flew out the window.**

**...**

**Yeah. Sorry. **

**On the bright side, we have an update! **

**-**

Today is the end of the WORST WEEK of my LIFE. I'm not exaggerating. I wish I was, oh, believe me, I wish I was. But I'm not. And the last seven days have been a living hell. For a plethora of reasons. Okay, three.

Reason One: Fang's not talking to me. Which is pretty self explanatory. The whole fight made me feel so awful but, well. I'm Maximum Ride, and sadly, I have pride. Too much to apologize. At least, not right away. By the time I'd trampled down my ego a little, it was already established that we were NOT TALKING. So that was that, pretty much. The whole week, he's said a total of five words and three sentences to me: Your watch, yeah, no, okay. No, we can't talk right now. Gazzy's buying gasoline, Max.

That last one doesn't even count. It was an emergency, we stopped at the convenience store and Fang was the only one around to stop the impending disaster. Because the Gasman and gasoline? Yeah, that can't turn out well.

So I'm miserable.

Reason Two: Everyone else has noticed we're not talking. That's pretty much self-explanatory too.

The first day or so, the younger three were trying to get us to talk. Angel felt supremely guilty, and Nudge and Gazzy were just totally confused. Eventually they all gave up, except Iggy, who, apparently, is trying to make a career of channeling Dr. Phil. Or some other psychologist. Psychiatrist. Whatever.

I think Angel told him what was going on, and it led to a bunch of failed conversations that left me feeling whatever-emotion-means-I'm-mad-at-you-and-also-myself-I-really-screwed-up-and-I-want-to-apologize-but-my-freaking-ego-is-getting-in-my-way-and-I-really-think-you-should-apologize-too-but-there's-no-power-on-earth-that-will-make-me-tell-you-this. Upset. Yeah, that covers it. Like 'an unfortunate misunderstanding' covers World War One. Snort.

Reason Three: I'm stuck with one guilt-ridden six year old, two confused kids, one aspiring Dr. Phil and my best friend who is now not speaking to yours truly. Do I really need to explain what an uncomfortable situation this is? Even more uncomfortable because, holy CRAP it was hot. Being in the desert had something to do with that, but I've flown over the desert before, and it's never been this bad. So this didn't improve my temper.

I just about cried with relief when we got to Arizona. We got in at about ten at night and everyone was sweating and hungry, so we ate and slept, then got up the next morning and ate again. The whole time Nudge was blabbing nervously, with Iggy responding to her in a way too cheerful voice.

"So like, yeah, and this dude runs one hundred miles in Death Valley and he's like, sixty-seven and he really likes it, which I think is so weird—"

"Wow, really, Nudge? Where'd you hear about that?"

"Oh, in that gas station store, they had this magazine. I like gas stations, they have everything in them, and sometimes they even have restaraunts and—"

"Oh, yeah, the one had a Subway in it. Do you like Subway?"

"Sorta, kinda, sometimes the subs fall apart and that's really annoying, but the five-dollar footlong song, is really fun to sing except sometimes it can get annoying—"

Finally, Fang said "Guys, shut up." So I glared at him, but he didn't look at me, so that did a fat lot of good.

"Well," I said. "We're here. Ready to go to my mom's house?"

Everyone just looked at me. Finally Nudge piped up "Sure?"

Great.

-

I touched down on the concrete at the edge of the driveway, pulse hammering. In a strange way, I've pinned all my future plans and hopes here. Like, when without a plan, go to Mom's. Understandably, I was a little nervous.

I heard thuds behind me. I turned around, and everyone had landed and was looking expectantly at me. Well, except Fang. So I took a deep breath and marched up to the door, punching the doorbell before I could chicken out.

The door opened, wafting scents of home cooking and dog food out to me. Strangely, that combination didn't smell bad, not coming from this house.

She was wearing a white blouse and jeans. Her hair was in a loose ponytail, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She seemed to have more lines on her face, and she looked a little tired. Nevertheless, Mom's eyes widened. Then she smiled. "Max! You guys...this is a surprise!" She opened the door wider. "Ella's at a friends house, but she'll be back soon..." I stepped inside and she enveloped me with a hug. "How are you?" she whispered into my ear as the rest of the flock filed in.

"Not great," I whispered back, and I felt tears pricking at my eyes, threatening to fall.

"Do you want to talk?" she held me at arms-legnth, studying me,

I nodded, tilting my head back, and wiping tears with the heel of my hand.

"There's some leftover pies in the fridge," Mom told the flock. "Milk, Chinese takeout...I think some lasagna, even. Help yourself." She tugged my arm and I followed her into her room.

It was a light coral. The carpet was a cream. The bedspread was pink with a seashell pattern. There was a walk in closet to my right. At the foot of the bed was an ottoman the color of sand.

"Sit," Mom said, patting the bed and sitting on the ottoman. "You know, this is where I gave Ella the birds and bees talk." She chuckled, the paused. "This isn't what this is about, is it?" she asked, looking at me. I shook my head. "So? Tell me, Max."

I took a breath, and it all spilled out. The new Voice, the freaky dreams, the whole Angel thing, the big Fang fiasco. At some point I began crying.

"And—now I think—he's going to leave anyways—cause he hates me!" I hiccupped, wiping my eyes anyways.

She patted my shoulder sympathetically. Then she took a deep breath and looked at me. "You've got to get back together," she said, an urgent undertone running under her words. "_Got _to."

"Wh—what? Why?" I stare at her. She sounds very serious.

"He can't leave—do you understand?" She grips my arm.

"But...what? I don't get it."

This time, Mom gives me a long, loaded look, then bites her lip. "Max, please listen..."

"I'm listening," I said confusedly.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm...your new voice. I'm so sorry, it was necessary, I'm on your side..."

But all the other words are drowned out by the roaring of my ears.

"You're---_WHAT _now?" I choked out.

"_Listen, Max,_" she said and this time I hear her in my head too.

Both my parents have voices in my head.

_BOTH MY PARENTS HAVE VOICES IN MY HEAD._

That is so wrong. I can't even think about how betrayed I feel, it's so wrong. Dr. Martinez was the first adult I trusted after Jeb and LOOK where that's gotten me.

I got up. "Get off me," I muttered numbly, wrenching my arm from her grasp and running to the kitchen.

I heard her call after me. "Max!"

"Guys, we're gone," I said, still feeling curiously numb.

"What?" Gazzy asks, pie half- in his mouth.

"We're OUT OF HERE," I yelled, yanking open the sliding door and stepping into the backyard, wings stretched.

They followed, still confused. "What?" Angel asks. I just took off. And as I do, I felt the numbness slip away.

And I cried.

**A/N Hey look! It's plot!**

**Tomorrow is first day of school. Wish me luck...in a review. Thanks!! SO NERVOUS—I'm going to a new school. **

**So yep! Two chapters then Epilogue. **

**BlueWingedKitty**


	12. The Breather

**Hey everyone! Guess what--I'm alive! It's a wonderful thing. I have a big list of excuses as to why I haven't updated in, like, 12 weeks, but I suspect you don't want to hear all of them. The main one is that I had pit orchestra and it slowly devoured my freetime. It was fun, though. However, tech week was from 3-9 everyday, and before that they were 3-6 and then after that we had the actual performances and it was a big insane pot of insanity..so there's my excuse. Happy? Great. Let's get you all off that cliffhanger, shall we?**

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I don't want to describe how I felt after Dr. Martinez's little revelation. Because there are no words. I don't want to spend paragraphs trying to describe an emotion that I have tried really hard to forget. I can tell you it hurt. Hurt even more than Jeb's betrayal. I don't know why. The phrase "once bitten, twice shy" comes to mind. I guess because I thought I'd learned my lesson with Jeb--never trust an adult. And then I made that mistake again. Apparently birdgirls don't learn fast. But what I did learn? Mistakes are doubly painful the second time.

I hate to admit it, but I didn't have the courage to tell the others exactly why we were pelting across the skies at a rapid pace, apparently without a plan. Well, definitely without a plan. No one asked, and I didn't volunteer any answers. Well, Angel knew, of course. But she didn't tell the others. I think she wanted me to. But at any rate, I wasn't exactly in the mood to give a real long explanation of this afternoon's events. What I was in the mood for was a long cry, uninterrupted, and an indefinite supply of hot chocolate. However, none of these things was going to happen really soon.

After an hour of silent, miserable (on my part) flight, someone touched my shoulder.

"We need to stop," Fang said, not unkindly, but not too kindly either.

"You take them," I said thickly, keeping my eyes ahead. "I need some alone time." And just like that I zoomed off. Because I could. And while it wasn't a cup of Swiss Miss, it helped.

I angled for a handy patch of pine tress, alighting in one of the upper branches. I drew my legs to my chest and waited for the inevitable waterworks.

Except, the inevitable waterworks, in fact, seemed to be evitable.

I couldn't cry. Although I was dying to, knowing from scant experience that crying did indeed make everything better, I couldn't. So I sat there, sad and depressed and lonely, not crying. I just huddled on my little branch, watching a raven cut through the graying sky.

I became aware of breathing behind me.

Normally, I would have whipped around and sucker punched whoever had snuck up behind me. (And usually it was only one person.) Today, I was just too depressed, and plus I had a sneaking suspicion that I didn't want to talk to the breather behind me. Not at the moment. So I let him be invisible. For a few minutes, anyway.

"Angel. She told you," I stated, not turning around. I admit this was a stab in the dark. I had no idea.

"Yeah." So we sat there, me not turning around, him sitting there and breathing.

"I'm sorry," I said. Another silence. No, the breather was not rushing to return the apologies, or clamoring to say "Oh, no, that's fine, why are you blaming yourself?" etc, etc. And that somehow made me feel better. I did make a mistake, and neither of us was trying to cover it up.

"I know." The wheeling raven dipped into another pine tree, farther away. I was left still staring resolutely at the clouds. "So am I." The breather was talking softer now. He was closer. I could feel him in the air behind me. He was officially in my personal bubble. People in my personal bubble that do not have express permission to be there are usually forcibly evicted.

I made a temporary exception. Temporary.

"I was waiting to tell you. I was scared." He was even quieter now.

"I know you would have. Eventually. It was just too much at the moment." And that was my excuse for the most epic fight since someone blew up my jeans when I was thirteen. Well, since someone deserted me last December, actually.

THe silence returned. The clouds were a charcoal color now. I sat staring at them. He was behind me. It was kind of awkward, but kind of okay, too.

"So," I said to break the awkward-but-kind-of-okay silence.

"I overreacted too," he said with a slight sigh. No one would have heard it except me. "Sorry."

I didn't rush in to forgive him. I knew that little apology was all that was coming from him. So I drew it out a bit.

"Yeah. I guess we both did." I shifted. THe charcoal clouds were now more like burnt-marshmallow clouds.

"And I'm sorry about--her." The sentence was no more than a whisper. I turned around and looked at him. He avoided my gaze and stared at the burnt marshmallow clouds. "It's hard when people you trust betray that. We all know. But you've gotta remember that there are still people that won't do that to you. Ever." He tensed slightly. "Like me." He finally looked at me. I don't know what my expression was, but I knew that I was so grateful for that little speech.

Somehow, that's what I needed to hear right then. That he'd never change. He'd be like my rock, unmoving and sturdy.

On the other hand, if he changed, I'd be ruined completely. What a gamble.

_Love's a gamble_. I remembered reading that on a bumper sticker somewhere. So.

There wasn't any distance between us now. Nothing to close. So I just reached out and held him.

Above us, the marshmallow clouds burst open, sprinkling rain that splattered all around us, but not between. Nothing could get in between anymore. And then I leaned up and closed my eyes and let the rain fall.

And we--finally--kissed. Because what else are you supposed to do when it's raining, your heart broke into a million pieces and your soul mate just promised never to leave you?

We just shrared the moment . And we breathed together.

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**Okay. Fax. Everyone happy now? Was it cheesy? Abrupt? Great? Terrible? **

**As amazing as it seems.... 1)I stayed up until two to finish this 2) You are going to review it, and 3) It's not over yet, not by a long shot. A chapter and the epilogue. **

**Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving/Black Friday/ Normal Friday if you don't live in the US. :D**

** BlueWingedKitty**


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